policyengine-skills

Sensitivity registry for PolicyEngine microsim results — maps {program × deviation signature} to the most likely calibration target or imputed variable driving the mismatch. The knowledge base that powers the calibration-diagnostics agent. Load when investigating why a microsim result differs from a prior score, or when reviewing whether a reform classification is calibration-sensitive. Triggers: "why does my reform not match", "policyengine cost off", "calibration mismatch", "imputed variable", "takeup rate", "non-filer", "itemizer share", "small state variance", "ECPS calibration target", "policyengine-us-data target", "calibration dashboard", "diagnose mismatch", "deviation signature".

Structured index of PolicyEngine's previously-published scored reforms. Use this skill to find an anchor for Stage 5 comparison in /analyze-policy, or any time you need a benchmark magnitude for a new policy analysis. Returns a queryable mapping of {reform name → (cost, poverty, distribution, year, methodology)} drawn from policyengine.org/{us,uk,canada}/research and blog.policyengine.org. Triggers: "prior PE score", "PolicyEngine has scored", "what did PE find", "PE benchmark", "anchor reform", "comparable reform", "EITC expansion scored", "CTC expansion scored", "SALT cap analysis", "state CTC analysis", "ARPA reform impact", "American Family Act score".

PolicyEngine API v2 - Next-generation microservices architecture with monorepo structure

ALWAYS LOAD THIS SKILL before setting up any Python environment or installing packages. Defines the standard: uv, Python 3.13, uv pip install, .venv at project root. Triggers: "set up python", "install python", "create a venv", "virtual environment", "pip install", "install packages", "uv pip", "uv venv", "python version", "VIRTUAL_ENV", "venv conflict", "which python", "activate", "deactivate", "run the script", "run with uv", "uv run", "pyproject.toml", "install dependencies", "install requirements", "install the package", "editable install", "pip install -e", "latest package", "latest version", "current version", "newest version".

ALWAYS USE THIS SKILL for PolicyEngine microsimulation, population-level analysis, winners/losers calculations. Triggers: microsimulation, share who would lose/gain, policy impact, national average, weighted analysis, cost, revenue impact, budgetary, estimate the cost, federal revenues, tax revenue, budget score, how much would it cost, how much would the policy cost, total cost of, aggregate impact, cost to the government, revenue loss, fiscal impact, poverty impact, child poverty, deep poverty, poverty rate, poverty reduction, how many people lifted out of poverty, SPM poverty, distributional impact, state tax, state-level, California, New York, UBI, universal basic income, flat tax, standard deduction, winners and losers, winners, losers, inequality, Gini, decile, SALT, marginal tax rate, effective tax rate. NOT for single-household calculations like "what would my benefit be" - use policyengine-us or policyengine-uk for those. Use this skill's code pattern; explore codebase for parameter paths if needed.

ONLY use this skill when users explicitly ask about the PolicyEngine Python package installation, REST API endpoints, API authentication, rate limits, or policyengine.py client library. DO NOT use for household benefit/tax calculations — ALWAYS use policyengine-us or policyengine-uk instead. This skill is about the API/client tooling itself, not about calculating benefits or taxes.

ALWAYS LOAD THIS SKILL FIRST before writing PolicyEngine-Canada code or answering household-level Canadian tax/benefit questions. Covers federal/provincial rules for household calculations. IMPORTANT: no representative population microdata; do NOT attempt microsimulation or population-level estimates. Only household-level analysis. Triggers: what would, how much would a, benefit be, eligible for, qualify for, single parent, married couple, family of, household of, if they earn, earning $, making $, calculate benefits, calculate taxes, benefit for a, what would I get, maximum, rate, income limit, benefit amount, compare provinces, CCB, Canada Child Benefit, GST credit, HST credit, GST/HST, OAS, GIS, CWB, Canada Workers Benefit, EI, CPP, Ontario Child Benefit, OCB, OTB, BC Climate Action, Alberta Child Benefit, Quebec, CRA, Canadian, Canada, Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI, Newfoundland, Yukon, NWT, Nunavut, provincial tax, federal tax Canada.

Use when the user invokes $encode-policy-v2 or asks Codex to implement a new PolicyEngine-US state benefit program from official rules. Covers research, source collection, requirement extraction, scoped implementation, tests, validation, and draft PR preparation.

Use when the user invokes $fix-pr or asks Codex to apply fixes to a PolicyEngine PR based on $review-program findings, GitHub review comments, CI failures, or local review reports.

ALWAYS LOAD THIS SKILL for PolicyEngine PR reviews, including when the user invokes $review-program or Codex /review on a PolicyEngine PR. Performs read-only code validation, source-reference checks, regulatory review, optional PDF audit, summary reporting, and optional GitHub comment posting.

Building standalone interactive calculators and dashboards that embed in policyengine.org

Deploying PolicyEngine frontend apps to Vercel - naming, scope, team settings

This skill should be used when setting up a new project that uses @policyengine/ui-kit, debugging CSS or styling issues in a consumer app, or when Tailwind utility classes are not being generated. Also use when creating globals.css, configuring PostCSS, or troubleshooting "no styles", "no spacing", or "no layout" problems. Triggers: "ui-kit import", "globals.css setup", "Tailwind not working", "styles not applying", "utility classes missing", "setup ui-kit", "PostCSS config", "no styling", "CSS broken", "import ui-kit", "theme.css", "no layout", "no spacing", "@tailwindcss/postcss", "PolicyEngineShell", "multizone shell", "PolicyEngine header", "PolicyEngine footer"

PolicyEngine design system — tokens, typography, colors, charts, and branding for all project types. Triggers: "brand colors", "design tokens", "PolicyEngine colors", "typography", "font", "color palette", "CSS variables", "design system", "branding guidelines"

Tailwind CSS v4 + shadcn/ui integration patterns for PolicyEngine frontend projects. Covers @theme namespaces, CSS variable conventions, SVG var() usage, and common mistakes. Triggers: "Tailwind v4", "@theme", "shadcn", "CSS variables", "design tokens CSS", "theme.css", "@theme inline"

Use this skill when updating the PolicyEngine skills source repo or the generated policyengine-claude wrapper — adding skills, fixing skill routing, updating years in code examples, reordering skills, or tuning skill descriptions. Triggers: "update plugin", "fix skill", "wrong skill loaded", "update year", "plugin maintenance", "skill routing", "skill description", "policyengine-claude plugin", "policyengine-skills".

PolicyEngine coding standards, formatters, CI requirements, and development best practices. Triggers: "CI failing", "linting", "formatting", "before committing", "PR standards", "code style", "ruff formatter", "prettier", "pre-commit"

Healthcare program modeling in PolicyEngine-US — Medicaid, ACA marketplace, CHIP, and Medicare. Covers encoding rules, running analyses, and navigating the unique complexity of US healthcare programs. Triggers: "healthcare", "health insurance", "Medicaid", "ACA", "CHIP", "Medicare", "marketplace", "premium tax credit", "APTC", "PTC", "SLCSP", "benchmark plan", "rating area", "age curve", "family tier", "coverage gap", "Medicaid expansion", "MAGI", "medicaid_magi", "aca_magi", "medicaid_income_level", "medicaid_category", "enrollment", "takeup", "take-up", "per capita", "CSR", "cost sharing", "insurance premium", "second lowest silver", "required contribution percentage", "42 CFR", "IRC 36B", "categorical eligibility", "expansion adult", "healthcare reform", "healthcare analysis", "health policy".